Increased Likelihood of Degree Completion

Among students enrolled at two-year colleges, earning just one credit-granting CLEP score increases the probability of completing an associate degree by 5.7 percentage points, or 17%.2

Among students enrolled at four-year colleges, earning a credit-granting CLEP score increases the probability of completing a bachelor’s degree by 1.2 percentage points, or 2.6%.2

As a group, students affiliated with the U.S. military services experience uniquely large completion effects—2.6 (11%) and 8.6 (18%) increases in probability of earning a bachelor’s and associate degree, respectively.2

Shorter Time to Degree

Students who took prior learning assessments (PLA) like CLEP and earned bachelor’s degrees saved an average of 2.5–10.1 months earning their degrees, compared to non-PLA students earning degrees.4

PLA students who earned an associate degree saved an average of 1.5–4.5 months to degree completion.4

With 13–24 PLA credits, black non-Hispanic PLA students saved an average of 14.2 months to their bachelor’s degree.4

92% of institutions offer PLA credits to accelerate the time to degree completion.5

Significant Cost Savings

An adult student who earns 15 CLEP credits to apply toward a degree could save nearly $5,000 at the average public 4-year institution and more than $17,000 at the average private nonprofit institution.6